Yesterday morning I got up around 6 o'clock. On opening the shades, I noticed a lot of bird activity in the garden. In fact, it was the most all Winter! There were half a dozen Juncos, a couple of Chickadees and two male Cardinals. (Of course the camera malfunctioned when the Cardinals were posed near the patio door.) There even was a Mourning Dove, and I hadn't seen any of them in months. This bird hopped right up to the patio door and looked in at me. All the little birds were busily cleaning off any remaining Aster seeds. It's too bad these birds didn't visit on the day of the Bird Count. Maybe they came because meteorological Spring begins next week!
17 comments:
Enjoyed the Florida photos... must have been a welcome change.
Funny that your mourning doves are just showing up. My New England, Zone 5, backyard has been hosting 5 doves on a regular basis (and a flock of about 25, periodically) all winter. Maybe I should send a few your way?
Oh, and Lucy-Maude says 'Hi' to your daughter..... Deb
There has been bird movement around here too MMcD. I bet the birds do know something that we don't know. The days are getting longer. yipeee
Hi MMGD - I thought about doing the bird count, but they just weren't around when we were there to count. And they always know when someone else has the family camera.
I sure hope spring is on the way to you guys - you've had quite a rough winter.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
It's nice having birds around your garden, isn't it? I can't imagine this world without the chirping of birds. But around where I live, I think they are decreasing in number... very sad.
/Katarina
The birds know more that we do about the seasons and weather don't they? The chirping audio level has increased here also, especially in the early morning, just a day break.
Frances at Faire Garden
Garden author - before the property behind the houses across the street was cleared off all the trees, Mourning Doves were regular visitors. I've missed their cooing, so it was a thrill to see 1 again.
Lisa - is it the increase in daylight that does it? Whatever the cause, I'm happy about it.
Annie - this has been the worst winter in a very long time. Yesterday, my husband reminded me that the average temperature around here at this time of year is 37F. We haven't even seen the average, much less the usual, occasional temperatures above that. I'm tired of chopping ice & shoveling snow.
Katarina - it seems that loss of nesting sites is a big factor. I used to see lots of Sparrows, a couple of Blue Jays & some Woodpeckers. I'm hoping they'll come back when the new trees mature.
Frances - I like the "Dawn Chorus" now, but it's a bit much in June, when it starts at 4:30 in the morning!
MMD, We've been hosting so many birds that I called a neighbor to see if she's not feeding them this year (she's not!). Next-door neighbors have taken a vacation for a couple of weeks or so... (no bird food there). Across the street, the house is for sale. They have always fed birds. Hmmm. My guess is that i'm about the only one out here these days.
Couple that with your query, and just know that I fed 24 cardinals, 24+ blue jays, about 40 juncos, and the same number in sparrows, 15 goldfinches or so, 6 mourning doves, a couple of this and a couple of that... and needless to say, I've had to work to keep the feeders full (and replenish the stock of food)!! Looking Towards Spring!! ha?
I noticed something about the goldfinches this morning! There's the beginnings of the beautiful golden color returning. Is THAT a sign of Spring?? :-)
MMD - they must not have heard about the big snow storm currently underway. It's snowing like crazy at my house!
How strange that you hadn't seen your Mourning Dove for months. Mine are there every day, without fail.
But it is nice that you finally had some birds in your garden as they liven the place up a bit.
I've only seen Turkeys lately. The long winter seems to be driving them to overcome their fear of the dog and they've showed up in the yard recently. With the deep snow I think they're getting a bit desperate for forage.
All during the bird count, there were no chickadees or jays. The cooper's hawk only showed up once. Today, I heard chickadees and blue jays talking. I can't even guess how many gold finches and purple finches and house finches I really have. There are sometimes 4 dozen birds hopping around under the feeder at once. Looking at them with binoculars makes me realize just how many different kinds of sparrows we actually have. all little brown birds are not the same. Thank heavens for that.
Shady Gardener - I'm willing to believe that the Goldfinch plumage change is a sign of Spring - I'm looking for anything!
Gina - maybe they're looking at the long-range forecast. One can only hope.
Yolanda Elizabet - the Mourning Doves used to be around everyday. Their disappearance is a mystery. I hope they'll be around more this Spring.
Wiseacre - Do you put out food for them? Is there such a thing as Turkey Chow? I'd love to see wild Turkeys around here. The closest I've seen them is by where I used to work, about 40 minutes away. Now Turkey Vultures I do see, but they are always high & soaring.
Hi, Healing Magic Hands - I'm glad the birds are back by you too! I used to have a lot of Sparrows & House Finches - they're so cute.
Thanks for stopping by with the squirrel advice. It's given me a great excuse to come over to thank you and have a look at your lovely blog. Coming back to snow must have been a shock after the heat and sunshine of Florida!
I was awakened this morning (what time is it?) by a cardinal singing in the holly tree outside the window. Spring is on the way.
VP - welcome! As you may be able to tell from the name of my garden, Squirrelhaven, I'm now something of an expert on squirrels. Coming home to all this snow & cold was definitely a rude shock.
Entangled - Spring better be on its way - last night I dreamed that my Hellebores were in bloom. I think I'm going nuts!
I hope they do know something...my horse has started shedding out, and I think the cats are too! I'm just waiting to see what the goldfinches are doing, plumage wise--haven't seen many of them lately, I think the redpolls have been chasing them off!
If the critters aren't responding to the temperatures, maybe they are responding to the increasing daylight. If there wasn't so much snow on the ground, I'm sure it would have been in the 50sF here today. The sunlight is getting stronger - just hang in there a few more weeks!
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